


Mission Awry

by gh0stypeach



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Because I'm out here too, Black Panther (2018) Spoilers, F/M, I know, I know you're out there, It's just a movie rewrite, Just read the authors note, Let Me Live My Life, Looking for these fics because there's like 6, My title sucks leave me alone, This is for the 10 Agent Ross fans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 08:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20871320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0stypeach/pseuds/gh0stypeach
Summary: You've been a CIA agent for 10 years. You've also been partners with Everett Ross for 10 years. Current mission: arrest Ulysses Klaue and obtain the stolen vibranium. There's one problem though. The king of Wakanda is at the Korean casino and you don't think he's backing down from taking Klaue for himself without a fight.





	1. The King Is Here?

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you're thinking, "ew, a movie rewrite reader insert" but hear me out. I spent time on it and tried to include a lot of my own content as well. It was beta read by my good friend and she and I have similar tastes. She liked it. I know it's cliche but don't judge a book by its cover, I promise it's not as bad as you might think. Plus I know you Agent Ross fans are searching for content, we don't have much to chose from. So this is for you guys because I'm looking for good fics too.
> 
> Edit: Thank you all for 500 hits, I never thought this would make it past like 100! I'm so glad all you Everett fans are out here and actually reading this. Thank you all!!!

Walking through a market in South Korea isn’t inherently nerve-wracking, but when you’re a CIA agent on an important mission, it’s hard to not have a constant sweeping gaze. You fidget with the buttons on your dress and your hands get lightly slapped away.   
“What?”  
“Stop fidgeting, you’ll draw attention. Shouldn’t you be over that by now? You’re only a few years behind me,” Everett grumbles, keeping his gaze straight.   
“Sorry, it’s just this is kinda a big deal, y’know?” you snap back to your partner, forcing your hands to your sides.   
“Yeah. So don’t draw attention.” You roll your eyes. You’ve known Everett Ross since you joined the CIA. The two of you have been on probably hundreds of missions together over your 10 years of experience. You’d decided to join the CIA at 25. Everett was 28 and 3 years ahead of you in the agency, so naturally, you were assigned to be partners. As much as Ross hates to admit it, you’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since, both of you essentially refusing to go on missions with anyone else. This one is no different. The mission is easy in theory. “Buy” a chunk of stolen vibranium, arrest Ulysses Klaue, get back to America. It’s carrying it out that’s going to be difficult as Klaue has avoided being caught and escaped custody for you don’t even remember how many years, so what’s stopping him this time? Well obviously you, but it’s not a given that everything is going to go as planned. It never is.   
You walk up to a stall that has an older Korean woman, probably in her 50’s or 60’s, with short black hair and a bright pink sun visor despite it being night. The lady smiles at Everett and the two begin speaking Korean. Of the four languages you know, Korean is not one of them, so you just stand and listen to the jibberish until Everett motions for you to follow him. You smile and nod to the lady as you walk past, hoping she understands it as a thanks. Everett lifts a tarp hanging over a doorway and you follow him through to see a metal detector. Your mind immediately goes to your hidden pistol but Everett nods to you. You walk through and there’s no beep. The two burly trees of men in front of you open two doors to a beautifully ornate casino full of wonderful reds and golds and it’s surprisingly playing American music. Walking to the balcony, the two of you survey the floor, doubting Klaue is here yet, but spot a few other people who are helping out tonight. Everett walks over to a man standing with a cart and hands him a wad of cash, agency money. The man says a few things that you still don’t understand before handing Everett a handful of chips, which you do understand. One has to gamble at a casino to fit in. You begin descending the stairs to the floor and hold out your hand for chips.   
“I never knew you spoke Korean,” you say as the plastic clinks into the palm of your hand.  
“Not fluently,” he replies, walking over to the craps table.   
“Well obviously enough,” you shrug, standing behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. The ring on your finger sparkles slightly in the chandelier light. You’re posing as a married couple tonight. It’s not the first time you’ve ever had to do this, but it’s still a bit weird. You pass the time by watching him play, glancing at the silver ring on his finger. Sometimes it almost feels real, like you’re really married. You’ve been partners for long enough that you know almost everything about each other, besides the fact that Everett speaks Korean. The whole pretending to be married thing hasn’t helped the past few months. You realized a while ago, maybe even a few years ago your stupid crush. It’s always been at the back of your mind, you force it back and it never gets in the way. Except for times like these when the two of you are so good at acting it feels real. Then it’s brought to your attention and it takes more work to push it back and focus. You’re pulled from your thoughts when you notice Everett looking at a man walking by.  
“Is that…” you start, following his line of sight.  
“Yep,” he mutters as the man walks up.  
“Agent Ross,” T’Challa begins, standing next to him.   
“Your Highness,” Everett replies, returning his attention to the table.  
“Who is this?” T’Challa asks, nodding to you. You never met T’Challa directly, it was one of the rare occurrences you weren’t with Everett on a case, but you certainly know his face.  
“She’s my wi- my partner. Agent L/N.” You smile and nod your head.  
“Your Highness.” You almost get lost in thought again. Everett almost called you his wife. Sure it’s probably reflex, you’re pretending to be married, but it still makes you smile.   
“You are buying from Klaue,” T’Challa mutters, leaning in front of Everett and placing a stack of chips down  
“What we’re doing or not doing on behalf of the U.S. government is none of your concern,” Everett starts, facing T’Challa and leaning against the table. “Now whatever the hell you’re up to, do me a favor, stay out of our way?” There’s not much of a chance for you to speak, so you just look on as T’Challa smiles.   
“I gave you Zemo,” T’Challa says, straightening up.  
“Didn’t I keep it under wraps that the king of a third world country runs around in a bulletproof catsuit? I’d say we were even.” You smile slightly at Everett’s remark but try to maintain a serious composure.   
“You really need to leave now.” Everett returns his attention to the table and you take this chance to talk.  
“It really would be best for you to go, your Highness,” you say, stepping to Everett’s other side, closer to the king.   
“Klaue is leaving out that door with me. You’ve been warned,” T’Challa says, looking at you both, rolling the dice in his hand, then walking away.   
“Three craps,” the man running the table says.  
“Hey, you won!” Everett says, turning, but T’Challa isn’t paying attention, already gone. An old man with white slicked-back hair, a mustache, and aviator sunglasses sidles up before you have a chance to say anything to Everett.  
“You know what?” he starts, reaching to T’Challa’s winnings. “I think I’ll just take these… bring ‘em over here, and hold on for safekeeping.” He pulls the chips over to where he was standing previously. You keep from laughing slightly as Everett gives a non-believing “mm-hmm” before turning to you.  
“What the hell are we supposed to do about that?” you ask quietly. Everett sighs then holds out his hand and nods his head for you to follow him. You take his hand, the ring uncomfortable between your squeezed together fingers.  
“Okay, heads up. The king of Wakanda is here. He cannot leave with Klaue.” You walk behind him as he speaks into his tiny concealed radio.   
“What are we doing?” you ask, trying to pull your hand from his, wanting some sort of answer. Instead, he begins speaking to T’Challa again.  
“All right. Vibranium from the attack on Sokovia links back to a person that I’m not actually saying I’m here to make a deal with but that deal will not be called off. When the dust settles, you and me can work something out.” T’Challa slowly turns to Everett seeming uninterested.  
“I am not here to make a deal,” he says, walking away again. Sighing, Everett and you move to a different table. He looks up to the balcony and you look too. He’s here. The two of you stand and wait, watching as he and his men walk up.   
“Well, that is quite the entourage. You got a mixtape coming out?” You try your best to not laugh but what comes next makes it even harder to keep a straight face.  
“Oh yeah,” Klaue chuckles. “Yeah, actually, there is one. I’ll send you the SoundCloud link if you like. Hey Dave, can you get the link to the tape?” You have to cough to keep from laughing. Of course, this gross, greasy guy would have a mixtape on SoundCloud.   
“Please don’t make me listen to your music. I just meant you got a lot of people with you,” Everett says.   
“You think they’re for you?” Klaue laughs again. You thought you couldn’t get any more uncomfortable and creeped out until he places his hand on Everett’s shoulder and starts squeezing it. “Don’t worry. I can do a deal with you all by myself, thank you very much.” He continues talking and rubbing Everett’s shoulder and you internally cringe both at the weird creepiness and hey, that’s your partner and fake husband. You clench your teeth and ball your fists at your sides, squeezing Everett’s hand you hadn’t realized you were still holding. He doesn’t let go, though. You’ve always been protective of Everett just like he’s been protective of you, but now you’re almost jealous. He shouldn’t be touching him, not your Everett.   
“You got the diamonds?” Klaue whispers. He nods to one of the other agents to bring over the briefcase.  
“Okay. That’s enough,” Everett says, turning and shrugging Klaue’s hand off his shoulder.  
“And who might this lovely lady be, sorry I didn’t notice you. I was a bit distracted,” Klaue smiles at you, his crooked, jaggedy smile and you feel sweaty, sweatier than before. He sticks out his hand and you go to shake it but he presses a kiss to your knuckles and you have to keep from pulling away.  
“She’s my wife, thank you very much. She wanted to come to the deal, she makes sure things are all in order,” Everett says, finally pulling his hand from yours and pushing you behind him. Normally he wouldn’t do that but he’s clearly creeped out and uncomfortable too. The woman whose name you forget at the moment passes Everett the briefcase.   
“Vibranium?” he asks. Klaue smiles that disgusting smile and unzips his pants, pulling out the vibranium piece wrapped in paper. You feel like you’re going to throw up and Everett just turns away and shakes his head.   
“I was going to buy a fancy suitcase but I thought I’d save myself some money,” Klaue smiles. You’re sure he has more than enough money. Klaue and Everett are still talking when there’s a scream and a body falls onto the table next to you from the balcony. Everett quickly lifts the briefcase in front of his face, the other hand at your waist, keeping you behind him as he moves, Klaue already firing shots at you. A table is overturned and you crouch behind it next to Everett, fumbling to get your pistol from your thigh holster under your dress.   
“Get outta here!” Everett shouts to T’Challa but he doesn’t move, placing a hand on his shoulder before kicking one of Klaue’s men that runs by. He begins fighting and when you have your pistol out, Everett nods to you, standing up and walking, briefcase still in hand, firing his pistol. You fire yours a few times too, unsure if you hit any of the men. You follow Everett to a hallway, following the crowd of people and sneak out a back door. He suddenly grabs your hand and pulls you around to the back of the building.  
“What are we doing, we need Klaue!” you shout, pulling your hand from his as he reaches into his pocket.  
“We’re not staying in a shootout. Plus he’s going to try to escape and knowing T’Challa, they’re following him. We’ll follow them and Klaue’s cars and catch up with them,” he replies calmly, unlocking a nearby car and hopping into the driver's side.   
“You coming?” he asks. You’re still standing in front of the car, headlights on you. You shake your head then nod, jogging to the passenger side getting in. He puts the car in gear and begins driving.  
“How are we gonna find them?” you ask, pulling your seatbelt on and putting the safety on, unloading your pistol’s magazine to check how many bullets you have.  
“Easy. T’Challa seems to leave a path of destruction in his wake when he’s after someone, you remember me telling you about Barnes. They’re not going to be hard to find.” You nod with a sigh, shoving your magazine back into the clip. You place the pistol in your lap and begin bouncing your leg. Everett glances at you out of the corner of his eye.  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah,” you huff, stopping your leg from bouncing.   
“Sure?”  
“Yeah. Just… Klaue is… creepier than I thought he’d be. If that’s even possible.” Everett gives a slight laugh, shaking his head. “Plus the whole shoot out thing has me a little riled up. Not super used to those,” you continue with a tired laugh.   
“No one is. I’m not.” You don’t reply. You’re not sure what to say. The radio isn’t on and you don’t really care right now. The silence between you is comfortable. Something about it is almost reassuring. The silence lasts a few minutes until Everett chuckles.   
“What?” you smile, looking to him.   
“You think Klaue really has a mixtape?”  
“Probably,” you shrug, laughing at the thought.   
“Wanna look it up when we get back to our hotel room tonight?”  
“Ev,” you start and he rolls his eyes.   
“I told you don’t call me that.” His voice is serious but his mouth betrays him, a slight smirk spread across it.   
“I would love nothing more than to listen to the man we’re trying to arrest’s most likely horrible mixtape with you.”  
“Good.” The two of you drive past a street where you see a wrecked car, one of Klaue’s.  
“Told you. We’re catching up.” Everett says. You aren’t bouncing your leg anymore but you’re spinning the two rings on your finger, just wanting- no needing to do something. You should’ve stuck with your leg though, you’re thinking about it again. About him. You’re able to force yourself to stop messing with the rings but you go right back to bouncing your leg.   
“Okay, what are we thinking about now?” Everett asks. Why does he have to know all your tells?   
“Failing the mission. T’Challa killing Klaue, taking him from us. Still the shoot out,” you say, not entirely lying, just not saying everything on your mind. You’re looking out the windshield and don’t notice until you feel it. Everett places his hand on your leg, just above your knee to stop it from bouncing.   
“It’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine,” he says. You think entirely too long about how he said “we’re gonna be fine” and how it sounded… good. His hand lingers a few moments too long and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Actually, your leg feels hot and you’re hyper-aware of his movements. For a split second, you consider putting your hand on top of his, maybe even holding it. All too soon though, you notice a familiar red dress standing in the middle of the road with a spear sticking out from what looks like a piece of a car. Everett pulls his hand away and places it back on the steering wheel, leaning forward and squinting.   
“Is that…” he starts, repeating your words from earlier.   
“Looks like it,” you reply, leaning forward too as you get closer. Everett rolls down the window and hits the breaks, jerking you forward slightly. The woman in the red dress, you don’t know her name yet, is still standing and the woman in the green dress, whose name you also don’t know is still in the driver’s seat behind the wheel. Klaue must have blown their car up. The two walk over to your car upon seeing you.  
“Hop in,” Everett says across you, waving his hand. “Put that spear in the trunk.” The woman in the red dress doesn’t look happy to be ordered around but she complies, putting her spear in the trunk and the two climb into the back seat. The woman in the green dress points forward and tells you which way Klaue went. Everett begins driving again and soon enough you pull up to a small market where there’s clearly been a car crash and a crowd of people gathering. Everett drives around the people, yelling at them to move as he does so. Once you reach the scene, T’Challa is holding Klaue by his throat, ready to kill him. The two women quickly jump out of the car and say something you don’t understand.   
“Come on guys. Let’s go, huh?” Everett says, leaning out the window. T’Challa turns and sees the people that have gathered around taking pictures and videos. He puts one hand down but still holds Klaue with the other. Everett parks the car and gets out, pulling his handcuffs from their holder on his belt. You get out too, aiming your pistol at Klaue as you and Everett approach. Klaue laughs at the handcuffs. Everett goes to cuff him but then realizes his prosthetic is missing. Instead, he grabs one arm which prompts T’Challa to release him. You grab the other arm with one hand, holding your pistol to him with the other.  
“Don’t try anything,” you say, voice hard and cold.   
“Wouldn’t think of it, sweetheart,” he smiles and you resist the urge to just shoot him then and there. T’Challa follows behind as an extra precaution. You open the car door and Everett cuffs Klaue’s remaining hand to the interior handle. You get into the passenger seat and pull your seatbelt on, keeping your pistol close. Everett gets into the driver’s side and leans out the window again.  
“You have transportation?”  
“Yes. We will be there tomorrow for the interrogation,” T’Challa says, nodding. Everett tells him where your Korean branch is and then drives away. The drive begins as an uncomfortable silence. You hate it.   
“What is this, a funeral?” Klaue complains. “Turn some music on will ya?”  
“No,” Everett says, eyes taking a moment to glance at him in the rearview mirror. The few times Klaue attempts to talk or make conversation you or Everett shut him down. After what feels like forever, you make it to the small building and are able to hand Klaue over to the other agents for the night. It’s late and you and Everett head to your hotel, this time turning the radio on in the car and finding an American station. It’s nice to not have to only sit with your thoughts and be able to listen to some familiar tunes. Neither of you talks the whole way there.  
You’re in the bathroom pulling your hair into a ponytail after having taken your makeup off, changing, and brushing your teeth when Everett calls for you from the main room.  
“Y/N come here,” he says with a laugh. You round the corner and he’s sitting on his bed with his phone in his hand.  
“What?” you ask, wrapping the hair band around your ponytail.   
“Listen to this.” You walk over and sit on the bed too, leaning against the pillows and headboard. He taps his phone and music starts playing. You’ve never heard this before.  
“What is this?”   
“Just wait,” Everett laughs and soon enough there’s a familiar voice singing and rapping. Horribly.   
“No,” you laugh. “Let me see.” Everett scoots back and sits next to you, showing you his phone. Sure enough, it’s Ulysses Klaue’s mixtape.  
“Ev, this is amazing!” you laugh, grabbing his phone as it continues playing, a song so bad it’s funny. He gives you a nudge with his elbow for using the nickname and you roll your eyes.   
“Does he have other stuff on here?” you ask, tapping on the artist’s name. “No!” you exclaim.  
“What?” he asks, leaning over to look at his phone.  
“There’s more!” You’re so tired but you have to hear this. You tap another song and you can’t decide if it’s better or worse. The two of you listen to more, laughing hysterically in your delirious states. You don’t remember falling asleep but you wake up next to Everett. The lines in his face are softer. He looks relaxed for once. His mouth is open slightly and you keep yourself from giggling when he snores slightly. His hair is messy, out of its usual slicked back style. You want to run your hand through it, it looks soft. You bet it is. Speaking of hands, his left one is closest to you. He still has the ring on and then you realize you do too. You smile to yourself and consider getting up but you’re still tired and drift back to sleep, listening to Everett’s quiet, steady breathing.


	2. Almost Died, Still Alive

Klaue is talking to the two-way mirror and you can’t tell if it’s directed at the people behind it or not. Nakia, the one who had the green dress whose name you now know is in the other room, watching out the front windows. Okoye, the other woman with the spear and red dress from the night before is watching through the glass with you, T’Challa, and Everett.  
“So this is a big mess, huh?” Everett starts, looking to T’Challa. “I figured we could go good cop, bad cop? I’ll talk to him first, then you guys go in.” Everett had asked you on the way over if you wanted to do the interrogation with him. You decided against it, telling him you would watch and come in if needed. He understood and didn’t say anything more about it. Okoye says something in what you now know as Xhosa. T’Challa smiles as Everett looks between the two. T’Challa replies to Okoye in Xhosa. Neither of you have any idea what they’re saying.  
“After your questioning, we will take him back to Wakanda with us,” T’Challa says, taking a step closer to the glass. You’re about to say something but Everett beats you to it.  
“What? No. Look, I like you, a lot. But he’s in our custody now. He's not going anywhere. Listen, I’m doing you guys a favor by letting you even be in here,” he says, lightly hitting T’Challa on the shoulder with the back of his hand. Okoye looks extremely offended by the action and turns to Everett. She says something in Xhosa again and it doesn’t sound very nice.  
“Does she speak English?” Everett asks.  
“When she wants to,” Okoye replies.  
“Everett,” you hiss, whacking him on the arm.  
“I’m going in. When I’m done, you guys are up.” He goes to open the door but T’Challa stops him.  
“Agent Ross?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Agent L/N? I do appreciate your help in Busan,” he says, placing a hand on yours and Everett’s shoulder. You nod with a smile.  
“You see that? That’s called diplomacy,” Everett says to Okoye. You hit him on the arm again, harder this time. “You’re welcome,” he says, opening the door and you can hear Klaue singing loudly before he shuts it again.  
“Okoye. Play nice,” T’Challa says after the door closes. She scoffs.  
“Americans.”  
“I’m sorry about him, he’s very serious about his job. Sometimes too serious. He’s been difficult the entire decade I’ve known him. Men, y’know?” you say to Okoye, hoping to make some sort of amends and praying that she doesn’t hate your guts. She gives a slight smile to you and it’s so quick and small you’re not even sure it was there. You hope it was. T’Challa let you borrow one of their listening devices since the interrogation room doesn’t have a speaker to listen to. You watch as Everett checks his watch and he already looks annoyed.  
“You know, you really shouldn't trust the Wakandans, I’m much more your speed,” Klaue says and you roll your eyes.  
“I don’t trust anybody, not in this job,” Everett replies but gives a quick glance through the glass to where he knows you’re standing. You smile to yourself. They start to talk about Klaue’s arm cannon and you start to get bored and begin pushing your cuticles back on your fingernails. You took the rings off when you got up this morning, leaving them in the hotel room. It’s a bit disappointing, you were just getting used to them. You almost walk away until Klaue begins talking about Wakanda having technological marvels and how the country was built on top of a giant supply of vibranium. You quickly glance at T’Challa and Okoye but try not to look for too long. This isn’t something outsiders are supposed to know. The more Klaue talks about it though, the faker it sounds. Wakanda is a third world country, they don’t have much of anything. The way T’Challa and Okoye look at each other, though, makes it seem more plausible. Klaue seems pretty serious too and that man is always laughing and smiling. Everett picks up his coffee and leaves the room. He walks over to T’Challa and he doesn’t seem very happy.  
“Your father told the UN that Klaue stole all the vibranium you had. But now he’s telling me you have more?” Everett asks.  
“And you believe the word of an arms dealer strapped to a chair?” T’Challa asks, not happy with Everett’s questions.  
“Everett, that man is a liar and a psychopath, you really think he’s telling the truth?” you ask, stepping next to him.  
“How much more are you hiding?” Everett asks.  
“Klaue was lying, they don’t have more,” you say but he ignores you. Suddenly Nakia runs in and starts speaking in Xhosa but is cut off by an explosion. You immediately drop to the ground and crawl behind a desk. You hear the sound of glass breaking and gunshots. Fumbling with your holster, you grab your pistol as quick as you can and peer over the desk, firing into the interrogation room once your coworkers are out of the way. You have no idea if you’re hitting anything. You watch as people fall next to you and you take in a shaky breath. You hear metal clink on the concrete floor. A grenade. Covering your head you prepare for the worst but T’Challa jumps on top of it, already in the Black Panther suit. Whoever it was leaves and you wait until the sound of gunshots is far enough to stand up. You shove your pistol back into the holster. Looking around, you can’t see him.  
“Everett?” you call, beginning to walk towards the now destroyed interrogation room.  
“Over here,” you hear Nakia say. You turn to see a group of people kneeling and Everett on the ground, barely moving.  
“Everett!” you cry, rushing over and falling to your knees. Nakia moves over to let you get closer but keeps her fingers on his neck, tracking his pulse.  
“He’s been shot in the spine,” she says quietly. “He jumped in front of me…” Your breath is uneven and you feel sick. He’s breathing heavy, his whole body shaking under Nakia’s hand. You can’t bring yourself to look at the wound on his back, his shirt having been lifted up. With a trembling hand, you begin stroking his hair as tears begin rolling down your cheeks. You lean down further, almost laying next to him on your elbow, but still on your knees.  
“It’s gonna be okay Ev, you’re gonna be fine okay?” You want him to roll his eyes at you for calling him by the nickname. His only response is his labored, uneven breathing and you’re not sure if he even heard you. You keep whispering to him, telling him it’s going to be okay. It won’t be though. If it hit his spine he’s more than likely a goner. You keep telling yourself he’ll live and try to keep yourself from choking out a sob. For his sake. You barely hear the footsteps running in behind you and Nakia telling T’Challa and Okoye what happened.  
“I don’t think he’ll make it here. It hit his spine,” Nakia says matter-of-factly. Everett’s wide, pain-filled eyes just stare at you, not moving. He’s scared. You continue stroking his hair and whispering to him despite barely being able to see through the tears.  
“It’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine,” you say, repeating his words from last night.  
“Give me a Kimoyo Bead,” T’Challa says and you look up to see Nakia pull a bead off her bracelet and hand it to him. He takes it and holds it near the wound. “This will stabilize him for now.” He pushes the small sphere into the bullet hole. Everett’s breathing slows and quiets down as his eyes flutter closed.  
“Give him to us. We can save him,” T’Challa says, looking to you.  
“Wh-what? How?” you stammer, looking to T’Challa.  
“We will take him back to Wakanda with us. He will be treated there.” Taking in a shaky breath, you nod before looking back down to Everett, a grimace on his face despite the sedation. You can’t help but run your fingers lightly across his cheek. Nakia says something to T’Challa in Xhosa, then he begins speaking to you again and you look back to him, hand still on Everett.  
“Come with us, Agent L/N.”  
“A-are you sure? After everything I don’t want to-”  
“Yes. Positive.”

You stay next to Everett the whole way to Wakanda in the ship. You’re almost always touching him whether it’s running your hand through his hair or just holding his hand. He’s on some sort of table that looks like it’s made of sand, some kind of advanced Wakandan tech. As you get closer, you ask T’Challa for a bathroom wanting to make sure you don’t look like a complete mess when you land. It’s like an airplane bathroom but obviously nicer. Gripping the sides of the small sink and looking in the mirror, you definitely are in fact a complete mess and are glad you decided to clean up a little. Your eyes are still red with mascara under them, your hair is pulled back and a mess, there’s tear stains on your cheeks and you’ve wrapped yourself in Everett’s black jacket that they took off of him. You splash some cold water on your face then wipe the mascara from under your eyes. Throwing the paper towel in the trash, you return to hear quiet bickering.  
“How do we justify bringing him into our borders?” Okoye asks, bitterness in her voice. You pull Everett’s jacket tighter around you and stay back, listening to the conversation.  
“He took a bullet for me,” Nakia retorts.  
“That was his choice,” Okoye replies, drawn-out and frustrated.  
“So now we are just supposed to let him die?” Nakia asks. You consider interjecting but change your mind. T’Challa is a reasonable man and Nakia is going to bat for him too. You’ll interrupt if things get too bad.  
“Let us consider that we heal him,” Okoye starts. “It is his and her duty to report back to their country, and as king,” she continues, turning to T’Challa. “It is your duty to protect-”  
“I am well aware of my duties, General,” he interrupts. “I can not just… let him die… knowing we can save him.” You breathe a silent sigh of relief and start to move back to Everett but stop when Okoye speaks again.  
“Where exactly are we taking him?” she asks through gritted teeth. T’Challa doesn’t reply, eyeing you in the doorway. He walks over to you with an apologetic look.  
“How much did you hear?” he asks in a low voice.  
“Most of it, I think,” you reply quietly, averting your gaze to your shoes.  
“I apologize. We will heal him. You have my word, Y/N,” he says, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder.  
“Thank you, your Highness,” you nod, looking back to him. He gives a sympathetic smile then moves aside, allowing you to return to Everett’s side.  
“We’re here,” T’Challa says, turning to you with a smile. You stand, hand on Everett’s to look out the window. You watch as a huge, dense forest approaches and you’re headed straight for it.  
“This never gets old,” Nakia smiles, looking to you. You stand in confusion until you fly straight through the forest and are spit out into a huge, bustling city with towers, marketplaces, and you stare in awe. This definitely isn’t a third world country. When you land, they cover Everett with a blanket and hand one to you as well, telling you to wrap it around your head. You’re most likely the first outsider to ever see this place and they probably don't want anyone to know they’re sneaking you in. You follow them through the castle and into a huge laboratory full of technology you’ve never even dreamed of before. You ‘re walking down a hall with blue lights moving around like a hologram and what you assume are Xhosa letters. You round the corner and from around the other, a young woman appears in an orange and white dress with some sort of see-through white mesh top over it. She begins walking alongside Everett, flipping the blanket down.  
“Great, another broken white boy for us to fix,” she smiles, looking to T’Challa. How could she say that? He could die, never walk again, be paralyzed! He took a bullet for someone and she’s smiling about it? And what does she mean by another?  
“Shuri,” T’Challa says, a parent-like warning, nodding back to you. She looks back to see you and her smile only fades slightly.  
“Sorry,” she says before turning back to T’Challa. “This is going to be fun.” You just try to brush it off and focus on walking. She goes to take Everett down a large spiral walkway to a part of her lab and you panic.  
“Wait!” you say and the four turn to look at you. “Sorry, I just…” you trail off, walking to the front of Everett’s stretcher, if you can even call it that, and place your hand on his forehead, smoothing back his hair.  
“You’re gonna be okay, Ev. You’ll be alright. I’ll see you soon,” you whisper before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. She takes him away and T’Challa motions for you to follow them.  
“I apologize for my sister, she does not always have the best manners,” he says, standing in the hall after you round the corner, prompting you to stop walking as well. You attempt a small laugh, wiping a tear you hadn’t even realized had fallen.  
“It’s alright. I don’t imagine too many people like us are coming here.”  
“It is okay, you are welcome here. Nakia, will you take Agent L/N to get some different clothes?” You look down and see you’re still in a plain tee and jeans, probably not common dress in Wakanda. Nakia nods to T’Challa, then motions for you to follow her. You follow in silence the whole way, taking in everything. This is Wakanda, the real Wakanda. It’s beautiful. You’re not sure what the room she brings you to is, whether it’s a bedroom, a closet, or some sort of term you’ve never even heard of. She begins going through a rack of clothes and you stand to the side.  
“Thank you for saving him,” you say quietly, watching as she slides one hanger after the other to the side.  
“He saved my life. I could not let him die,” she says, pausing her search to look you in the eye.  
“I truly, deeply appreciate it. Probably more than you know.” You don’t expect her to say anything else so you direct your attention to picking at your nails.  
“You love him, don’t you?” she says casually, pulling an outfit out, looking you over, then putting it back. You jerk your attention back to her.  
“W-what? No, we’re just friends. Just partners, that’s all. We’ve just known each other a while,” you say and you can’t tell if you’re telling Nakia or yourself. She looks at you and you must have a funny look on your face because she laughs.  
“Don’t lie to yourself. You will only make it worse. I’ve been there too, I should know.”  
“You… you have?”  
“Of course. Now tell me, do you love him?” she asks, abandoning her task to look at you. You’d never really thought of it that way. You’d always forced your feelings down, drowning them with other thoughts. Now that you think about it though, really think about it…  
“I guess so, yeah. I guess I do,” you say, taking in a deep breath. It feels so weird to be saying it out loud, especially to someone you just met yesterday.  
“And have you ever said anything to him?” she asks, returning to the rack.  
“No.”  
“Why?”  
“Because he’s my partner, my best friend. I couldn’t… do that to him. What if I ruin everything? I-I can’t do that. I can’t,” you sigh, looking to your feet and shoving your hands in your jacket pockets. His jacket pockets.  
“Why not? You shouldn’t be ashamed of your feelings. Have you ever considered if he feels the same?” she asks, an outfit over her arm but still looking through the closet.  
“He doesn’t. If he did something would’ve happened by now. We’ve known each other for ten years. If it was bound to happen it already would have,” you say, wanting to sink to the floor and just stay there forever.  
“Maybe he’s scared too,” she says, walking over to you. “I’ve seen how he looks at you when you’re not looking. He speaks fondly of you. You should tell him. You’ll be surprised. He’s a fool in love if I’ve ever seen one and trust me, I’ve seen T’Challa.” She gives a slight laugh before handing you a grey outfit. “Here, these should fit. I’ll let you get changed and then I’ll take you to your room.” She moves to leave the room and is about to close the door but you stop her.  
“Nakia?”  
“Yes?” she turns, reopening the door a bit.  
“Thank you.”


	3. He's One of Ours

As soon as Shuri was done with the surgery, she notified you that you could come down and see him. You spent the night there, sleeping -if you could even call it that- on the floor next to him. She lowered the table so you could be closer. You had been with him all morning and planned to stay with him until he woke up, but you feel dirty, not having had a shower since before you went to the casino. You’re reluctant to leave but trust he’ll be taken care of, so you head to your room, a tiny, barely noticeable room right next to the lab. It was incredibly kind of them to give you a room at all but you know that no one else knows you’re here so they couldn’t give you one of the normal guest suites. You look at yourself in the mirror once in the bathroom. The mauve tones under your eyes show just how tired you are. You barely slept on the floor last night but couldn’t bring yourself to leave Everett. Pulling your hair out of it’s messy ponytail, you look for a brush or comb. There’s a wooden comb on the sink next to some small bottles of what you assume are shampoo and conditioner. After getting everything set up and the water turned on, you’re about to get in but remember the Kimoyo Bead bracelet you were given to borrow. You take it off and set it on the sink.   
Once out of the shower you dress in the same clothes from before. You weren’t given any others and aren’t about to go looking for them by yourself. You glance at the black jacket still lying on the floor next to your shoes when you put them back on. You consider putting it back on, but think of the bullet hole still through the back and the slight but not noticable blood stain. You leave it on the floor. Looking under the sink, you assume the hair dryer-looking thing is just that, a hair dryer. It is, and once you’ve dried your hair and are satisfied with your appearance, though makeup-less, you put your Kimoyo Beads back on and check them. You hadn’t heard it ping but there’s a message from Shuri. Your boyfriend is up.   
“He’s not…” you mutter, swiping away the message. Quick as you can though, you’ve cleaned everything up and are out of the room. You take one step out of the door then turn around, running back into the bathroom and grab the jacket. You’re walking quickly but trying to avoid running and pull the jacket on over your shoulders. By the time you make it to the lab, which is only maybe ten feet away, you’re running down the spiral walkway and you spot him turned the other way, talking to Shuri.  
“Everett!” you shout, hopping from the ramp to the floor, not bothering to get to where the ramp meets the floor. He turns around with a confused look on his face but he doesn’t have time to say anything because you’re already hugging him tightly. Shuri said he is completely healed and won’t have any pain or recovery time.   
“Y/N? What… what are you doing here?”  
“I thought you were going to die, Everett, you were going to die and we would never see each other again,” you mutter into his shoulder, not answering his question. He slowly wraps his arms around you, resting his chin on your shoulder.  
“I will give you some space,” you hear Shuri say, but you’re not really focused on anything but him right now.   
“Ev, it hit your spine, I was scared, I was so scared,” you say, beginning to cry.  
“I know. I’m okay now though, we’re okay,” he says, holding you tighter. You stand in silence for a while and it’s all you need. You don’t need to talk, you don’t need to hear his voice, you just need him to be alive and there, holding you tight in his arms, you doing the same to him.   
“Can you believe this is Wakanda?” he finally asks after a while, breaking the silence.   
“No. It’s insane,” you say, pulling away just enough to look at his face.   
“You see the vibranium mine?” he asks with a slight smile.  
“Yeah, I’ve uh… been spending most of my time down here the past day. Pretty crazy, huh?”  
“Yeah,” he says, and then you don’t say anything again for a bit. You just rest your head on his chest and hearing the steady thrum of his heartbeat is all you could’ve asked for. Then you decide maybe it’s time. As much as you don’t want to, you finally break the hug and take a small step back to look him in the eye.  
“Hey, Ev?” you ask, waiting for him to roll his eyes but he doesn’t. “I’ve been thinking a lot these past two days and… I guess now’s as good a time as ever to tell you. I like you, Ev, like really like you. Not just as a partner or a friend but I…” You pause to take a deep breath. “I guess what I wanna say is… I love you, Ev. I really do and I don’t want to ruin what we have but I just… I had to tell you. It was too close yesterday, I have to tell you before it’s too late.” You feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders but it’s replaced by an even heavier one as you wait for his reply.  
“You know… as I was lying there, wondering if I was gonna live or die, the only thing I could think about was you and not just because you were there. I wondered if I’d ever get to see you again, hear your voice again. Tell you how I really feel and have felt for… for a while now. I love you too, Y/N, I’ve just been too scared to admit it. I guess we both were. I think we were partnered together for a reason. I lived for a reason. And I think this was it,” he finishes, smiling. You take a step forward and fall back into his arms.  
“I was so nervous, I was so scared for so long, I can’t even tell you how happy I am,” you say with a laugh, feeling more relieved than ever. Your best friend and partner is alive and he loves you back. You look to him with what feels like the biggest smile you’ve ever smiled. He, of course, is smiling back, then he begins to lean towards you, eyes fluttering closed. You let your lids fall too, eyes barely open. He’s so close you can feel his breath and he nudges your nose with his. All you’d have to do is lean forward just a smidge and…  
“Agent Ross!” comes Shuri’s voice from across the room and you jump back from each other.  
“Yeah?”  
“My brother is on his way. Would you like to change out of that gown?” she asks, rounding the corner from the other side of the lab with a folded outfit in her hands.  
“Uh… yeah, sure,” he says, looking to you then taking the clothes from her. She walks away, back to her station. Before he leaves to change, you give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He looks at you with a stupid little smile, but it’s cute. You turn and walk over to Shuri to ask her about why her brother is coming. All she knows is that there’s a man who showed up at the border. The man is being transported to the palace and is Wakandan, but Everett told her he’s one of yours. An American. She shows you the picture and you immediately recognize him. Erik Stevens, a SEAL who racked up more kills than you can imagine. He joined a JSOC ghost group. Assassinated people, took down governments. If he’s here, not much good can come out of it, he’s one dangerous man. By the time you and Shuri finish talking, Everett is done changing and T’Challa and Nakia have arrived. You, Everett, and Shuri waste no time pulling up information and beginning to explain just who this man is.  
“Erik Stevens,” Everett begins once everyone is ready. “Graduated Annapolis age 19, MIT for grad school.” You’re standing next to him but as usual he begins moving around, shifting on his feet. You haven’t had much time to observe but the new outfit looks good, better than the gown. It’s all black, somewhat matching your grey attire and you begin to wonder if they did that on purpose or if outsiders are just to wear black. You’re leaning more towards the former. The tunic is a button up with a mock neck and is made up of a few different pieces of fabric, namely the shoulders and the sleeves. There’s also a piece of fabric around his waist, same as the sleeve fabric. You’re not sure if it’s just an added accessory or not but it’s a good look. His pants are just black and you thought those were the shoes he was wearing but maybe not. You don’t quite remember Everett having a pair of black combat boots.   
“Joined the SEALs and went straight to Afghanistan where he racked up kills like it was a video game,” Everett continues, looking to you.  
“They called him Killmonger,” you say, picking up where he left off. “From there he joined a JSOC ghost unit and those guys are no joke. Go off the grid to commit assassinations and overthrow governments. I’ve got a feeling him being here isn’t good news.”   
“Did he reveal anything about his identity?” T’Challa asks, stepping closer to the display of Erik’s picture and information. You look to Everett and he just shrugs but Shuri answers instead.   
“He has a War Dog tattoo, but we have no record of him.” T’Challa nods turning to Nakia.  
“We must organize a meeting as soon as possible. Shuri, come with me. Agent Ross and L/N, please follow Nakia.” The two of you nod and the siblings begin to ascend the spiral walkway, you, Everett, and Nakia following close behind. Nakia takes you to some sort of office.  
“Stay here please. One of us will come get you when everything is clear.” You nod and Nakia closes the door. You hear her lock it from the other side and turning to Everett, you sigh.  
“If Erik is really here, and I’m assuming he is, this isn’t going to be good…” you start but trail off, beginning to fiddle with the jacket sleeves, looking at all the books and nick knacks on the bookshelf.   
“No, probably not. Do you think he really killed Klaue and brought his body?” Everett asks, finding a place in the office to sit.   
“He what?” you ask, turning away from the bookshelf to face him.   
“Shuri didn’t tell you? Had him wrapped up in a tarp when he got to the border. Trying to use it as a peace offering I assume,” he shrugs, motioning for you to come sit too.  
“Geez,” you mutter, sitting with your elbows on your knees, hair falling into your face.  
“You good?”  
“Yeah I just wasn’t expecting that. I’m… I’m glad he’s dead though. He was a bastard and a murderer,” you say, taking a deep breath. “And I guess it’s safe to say that after a shoot out and almost losing you I’m a little worn out. Barely even slept last night.” You huff a laugh but it’s just an attempt to lighten the mood.   
“Then rest,” he says, pulling you into his lap. You settle on the bench, looking out onto the city.  
“What do you think is happening in that meeting?” you ask, resting a hand on his knee.  
“Don’t worry about it right now. I’ll wake you up if there’s anything important.” He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and you drift off to the feeling of his hands running through your hair.

You wake with a start, sitting up and calling Everett’s name. An arm wraps around you and looking around, you remember where you are and start to calm down.  
“You’re fine, you’re fine,” Everett says. It takes you a few moments to catch your breath and speak.  
“I just… had a dream and then didn’t recognize where I was.”  
“That’s fine,” he says, rubbing your shoulder.  
“D-don’t do that please,” you mutter, rolling your shoulder to deter his hand. “Klaue.” You only have to say that name for him to realize and remember two nights ago. You still can’t believe this is only the third day of this whole mess, it feels like weeks. Finally feeling back to normal you walk over to the floor length window and look out across the city, the sun has gone down and the skyline is lit up by the buildings. Everett walks up and stands beside you.  
“I still can’t believe this is Wakanda,” you breathe, looking to him.   
“All this time and no one ever knew,” he says, glancing between you and the window.   
“What are we going to tell them when we go back?” you ask, taking his hand in yours.  
“I… don’t know. We can cross that bridge when we get to it.” You nod before looking back out to the city. The room remains silent for a bit until Everett speaks, he always seems to be the one to break silences.   
“So earlier…” he starts. You turn to face him and he’s fidgeting with his fingers. You almost say something about it to bug him for once, but you don’t want to ruin the moment.   
“Yeah?”  
“We almost…” He won’t finish his sentences and you can’t help but smile slightly. This is one of the rare times he’s shown his nervousness.   
“Yeah.”  
“Do you wanna…” You take a step closer.  
“Yeah.” You giggle as he closes his eyes and is already leaning closer to you.  
“What?” he asks, opening his eyes and you feel his breath fan across your lips.  
“You’re eager.”  
“I’m impatient,” he says, putting a hand on your hip and pulling you closer. You’re smiling but you can feel the heat rising in your cheeks. How long has it been since you’ve wanted to do this? You can remember when you were first partnered up. He was cute but you were new and he was bossy. Every so often you’d find yourself daydreaming but your small stints of crushing never lasted. It hasn’t been until within the past maybe year or so that you’ve really began thinking about it. His lips ghost across yours and the door opens, causing you to jump away from him. Nakia walks in quickly, looking distressed and holding blankets. You glance at Everett but he’s just as clueless as you.   
“What’s wrong?” he asks.  
“The king is dead,” she says.  
“What?” you ask, but she doesn’t reply. She throws a blanket that has a tribal pattern at each of you, your’s yellow, Everett’s blue.  
“Come with me unless you want to join him,” she says, already beginning to walk to the door. You look to Everett with a worried look. He begins following Nakia, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders and you do the same. He holds his hand out behind him and you take it.  
“What the hell?” you whisper.  
“I don’t know.” You follow Nakia through the castle and out some sort of secret back door into the jungle. You follow her through the dark underbrush. You walk up to see a woman in blue clothing and white braided hair who Nakia informed you on the way as being the Queen and T’Challa and Shuri’s mother. She holds out one of Nakia’s ring blades, Shuri behind her also wrapped in a blanket.  
“It’s me,” Nakia whispers, but she doesn’t put the weapon down.  
“Who are they?” she asks, clear panic in her voice.  
“They’re friends of T’Challa’s, Agent Ross saved my life,” Nakia says, hands still up in surrender.  
“Where is Okoye?” the Queen asks, still holding the ring up at you and Everett. You look worriedly at each other and he squeezes your hand. You can’t tell if it’s because he’s nervous too or if he’s trying to reassure you but you guess both.   
“Okoye is not coming. She and the Dora Milaje will serve the new king.” The Queen slowly lowers the ring. You breathe a silent sigh of relief.   
“Wait here,” Nakia says, sneaking ahead of the group. You look to the Queen but she looks away.  
“What is happening to our Wakanda?” she mutters. Shuri has a worried look and you try to give her a reassuring one but you’re not sure if she got it. You stand around a wait for Nakia to return for a while and use that time to make small talk. You and Everett tell the Queen pretty much everything that lead you here the past three days. She seems angry at your uninvited presence but she’s also grateful for the things the two of you have done for T’Challa, Nakia, and Okoye. When Nakia returns, you continue walking for a few hours before finding a small overhang to rest under. You lean against Everett and he wraps an arm around you. You curl into his chest and after drifting off and jerking awake a few times you fall into a light sleep. Before sunrise, Nakia wakes you all. You had checked the time on Everett’s watch around the time you stopped. The group got maybe two hours of sleep at best. You gather what few things you have and continue your trek into the mountains.


	4. Fight and Flight

“So where are we going again?” Everett asks and normally you would jokingly scold him for not paying attention but your feet hurt, you’re hungry, and you’re still tired. It’s late afternoon, almost evening again. The rocks and snow of the mountains aren’t doing you any favors either despite wearing the tennis shoes you had on when you came. It’s windy and freezing and you think you may have some altitude sickness, having nearly thrown up about a half hour ago.   
“We’re taking the Heart-Shaped Herb to Jabariland,” Nakia says, her green blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders and you can tell she’s cold and tired of all this too.   
“Heart-Shaped Herb? What is that?” Everett asks, walking slightly ahead of you to talk to her.  
“It gives whoever takes it heightened abilities,” Shuri says from next to you. It sounds like a steroid to you but after everything that’s happened you’re not sure what to think of anything anymore.  
“It’s what made T’Challa so strong,” Nakia says, pain in her voice with the death of the king still so fresh.  
“Nakia,” the Queen, whose name you now know is Ramonda, starts, stopping walking. Nakia turns and walks back to her, Everett taking a few steps forward before stopping and turning back but not moving. You walk up to meet him. Standing close to him, hoping to receive a little warmth, he presses a kiss to the side of your head, taking your hand.  
“It’s gonna be okay,” he whispers.  
“Yeah, I hope.” At the same time, Queen Ramonda has began talking to Nakia.  
“I don’t like this. The Herb belongs to us. We may be creating a bigger monster with M’Baku.” There’s a pause and Nakia looks to a part of the mountainside, carved to be a tribal-style gorilla with an open mouth and large canine teeth.   
“Nakia, you should take it yourself,” Queen Ramonda continues.   
“I am a spy with no army,” she draws out. “I wouldn’t stand a chance.” The Queen sighs but nods.  
“We’ll go.” Nakia moves to lead the group, you and Everett behind, Queen Ramonda and Shuri in the back.   
“Oh boy,” Everett mutters. Nakia holds her hand out and shushes him. Suddenly out of nowhere, men appear with spears, chanting and grunting with a gorilla-like sound. Everett squeezes your hand as the five of you stand back to back in a circle.   
“Oh, shit,” he mutters. You were just thinking the same thing.   
“Look down. Stay calm,” Nakia whispers. You barely hear Queen Ramonda tell Shuri to look down as the men get closer, trapping you in their own, bigger circle. Despite not wanting to, you pull your hand from Everett’s out of fear, not wanting them to take anything wrong or as a threat. They escort you all the way back to their village which takes until nightfall. No one talks and you’re afraid to even look at Everett, scared they might punish you in some way for it. The city is intricately built into the mountain and it reminds you of your time in Italy near the coast. It would be beautiful if you weren’t being escorted like prisoners to the palace. Once into the throne room, a man dressed in furs sits, holding a spear, one guard on either side. Some sort of white logs hang from the ceiling as you assume decoration. Two men are walking behind you with spears as well and when you’re in front of what you assume to be the king of this “Jabariland”, they bang the spears on the ground, causing you to jump. You stand close to Everett as the man sitting on the throne looks you over. He’s big, muscular and despite your CIA training in combat, could probably rip you in half if he felt like it. Queen Ramonda steps forward.  
“My son… was murdered in ritual combat,” she says, voice shaking from trying to hold back tears. You feel horrible for her but there’s really nothing you can do at the moment under the eyes and ears of four guards and a king.   
“Were the odds fair?” the man on the throne, who you were told is M’Baku, asks, his facial expression never changing.  
“Yes, but…” Nakia starts, but M’Baku interrupts her.  
“So it was less a murder than a defeat,” he says, matter-of-factly.   
“Do not rub our noses in it!” Shuri says, still crushed but defiant as ever.  
“Silence! I make the pronouncements here, girl,” M’Baku says and he already looks annoyed. More so than he did when you first walked in.  
“Look, uh, your Highness,” Everett starts, shifting his feet. You go to grab the blanket and pull him back but you can’t grab it as he moves. Instead you kick the back of his foot but he won’t stop. “The new king is a U.S.-” He’s cut off by M’Baku giving a loud grunt. You don’t dare speak to try and stop Everett.  
“The new king-” he tries again but is cut off by more gorilla-like grunting, this time by all five Jabari men in the room. Everett looks back to you with a look on his face but you just shake your head with a what did you do? look. He got himself into this, you’re not a part of it this time. The grunting finally stops and M’Baku is staring Everett down.   
“You cannot talk! One more word, and I will feed you to my children,” M’Baku says and he sounds serious. Why wouldn’t he be? Everett audibly gulps and you nearly do too. You shift forward slightly and take this chance to grab the blanket and pull him back towards you, eyes never leaving M’Baku.  
“I’m kidding, we are vegetarians,” he says with a small smile then laughs. Everett gives a quick, sideways smile. You can’t bring yourself to do anything but breathe, still gripping tight to the blanket.   
“Great Gorilla M’Baku,” Nakia starts as his laughing dies down. She kneels and opens her palm to something glowing a purple-ish blue. He looks confused then surprised. “This is why we are here. To offer this to you. An outsider sits on our throne. Only you can help us stop him.” M’Baku’s eyes dart around the room and he slowly stands. Queen Ramonda kneels next to Nakia, Shuri following right after and you pull Everett down with you. M’Baku sucks in a breath.  
“Come with me.” Everett is the first to stand and his blanket is pulled from your hand. You watch and wait for one of the other women to stand. Once Nakia stands, so do you. You follow M’Baku outside and around on a path as snow falls and the wind blows. You shiver and pull your blanket tighter around you. M’Baku takes you to a chamber where women are kneeling on the ground doing something in the middle of the room but you can’t tell what. He steps aside and Queen Ramonda gasps.  
“Impossible!” Nakia says, running to the side of whatever is in the middle and kneeling. You walk up to see that on a bed of ice is T’Challa and you turn to Everett with disbelief. Queen Ramonda and Shuri rush to the other side and fall to their knees, Ramonda reaching her hand out to touch her son. You and Everett stand back to give them space.  
“Is he breathing?” Nakia asks.  
“He’s in a coma. Barely clinging to life. One of our fishermen found him at the edge of the river border. He brought him to me,” M’Baku explains. You and Everett look to each other.  
“Why do you have him in the snow?” Shuri asks, pointing to the bed of ice.   
“It is the only thing keeping him from joining the ancestors,” M’Baku answers.   
“Rogers,” you whisper and Everett nods, remembering a certain super soldier who was kept on ice in a coma for seventy years.   
“We need to get him to my lab. I can heal him there,” Shuri says.  
“Take him, he’ll be dead in seconds,” M’Baku shrugs.   
“Shuri,” you start, walking over to her and kneeling. “He’s right, the ice is the only thing keeping him alive right now, it’s keeping his body functions slowed. If we take him, he’ll lose too much blood and he won’t make it.” She nods slightly with a huff.  
“Nakia, the Herb!” Queens Ramonda says and Nakia hurridley pulls it from her pocket, handing it to her. You’ve returned to Everett’s side and watch as she grinds the what you’re pretty sure is a fruit with a mortar and pestle and mixes it with warm water to create some sort of tea. With your head on his shoulder, still extremely tired from the trek and lack of sleep, you watch the small ritual begin.  
“I call upon the ancestors,” Queen Ramonda says, lifting the cup of steaming liquid above T’Challa, moving it around in circles. “I call upon Bast. I am here with my son, T’Challa. Heal him.” M’Baku turns to face you and you immediately lift your head. Everett looks between him and T’Challa before turning to the side and looking away. You do the same, unsure of what’s happening. Glancing to the side, you see the Queen pouring the liquid into T’Challa’s mouth. Once it’s gone, she sets the bowl aside.  
“We must bury him. Cover him. Cover him!” she says and the three women begin shoveling snow with their hands over T’Challa. They quietly chant in Xhosa. Everett looks around the room impatiently but doesn’t look to where T’Challa is. You pull your eyes away and force yourself to look at Everett instead. You stand in silence for a few minutes, resting your head on Everett’s shoulder again, eyelids heavy. You’ve just closed your eyes for what feels like the hundredth time when T’Challa gasps and sits up. You immediately lose tiredness and jerk your head to the side to see him. Everett jumps at the sound too, quickly turning to see the three women gathered around him. Even M’Baku can’t help but smile.   
“This place is just full of miracles isn’t it?” you mutter, reaching your hand under the blanket wrapped around Everett’s shoulders to lay your hand on his.  
“Sure is,” he smiles, looking at you then back to T’Challa.   
“Do you have a blanket?” he asks through shivers. Shuri giggles, grabbing hers from behind her. She wraps it around him with a hug. Your heart swells with joy, having just experienced the same thing in the past 48 hours. M’Baku let’s you stay the night and you’re divided into two rooms, separating you and Everett from the rest of the group. You’re honestly too tired to care or think anything of it. You kick your shoes and socks off at the foot of the bed, climb under the thick covers and glance to Everett, still taking his shoes off.  
“What? Want me to ask for another room?” he asks, pulling his other shoe off.   
“No. Sleep here. It’s cold,” you say through a yawn, curling up and pulling the blanket higher, almost over your head. The last thing you remember before falling asleep is Everett draping an arm across you and pulling you closer.

You were woken before sunrise and now the group of now six converses in the throne room, you, Everett, and Nakia standing, the other three sitting.  
“Killmonger has the full support of our military. And… he burned the garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb,” Nakia says, explaining the situation to the newly revived T’Challa.   
“Of course he did,” Everett starts. “That’s what he was trained to do. His unit used to work with us at the CIA to destabilize foreign countries. They would always strike at transitions of power like an election year or the death of a monarch. You get control of government, the military…” You nod as Everett speaks when various members of the party look to you for confirmation. He’s entirely right and you remember hearing about those missions in meetings often.   
“Our resources,” T’Challa says.  
“Right,” Everett confirms. You consider adding something but can’t think of anything to say.  
“The Great Mound,” T’Challa says, face riddled with newfound concern.  
“Our vibranium, all of my designs,” Shuri says, voice slowly growing more worried.  
“He will send our weapons all over the world.” Nakia sighs and T’Challa stands, walking towards his sister and mother, pointing.  
“You must get them out of Wakanda safely.”  
“What?” Queen Ramonda asks in disbelief.   
“What about you?” Shuri says at nearly the same time.   
“The challenge will have to continue.” From what you’ve seen of T’Challa’s wounds, it wasn’t an easy challenge to begin with. Now that Erik has access to all of Wakanda’s weapons and army, you’re not sure if they stand a chance.  
“T’Challa, we will not leave Wakanda,” the Queen says, standing and walking up to her son.   
“It is my duty to keep you safe,” he says. You begin wondering if they’ll make you and Everett leave and as much as a responsibility you feel to help, you can’t help but just want to leave and go home.  
“If he gets control of our technology, nowhere will be safe,” Shuri says, bringing up a good point. Thinking back to T’Challa’s bulletproof suit, the Kimoyo Beads on your wrist, Shuri’s life saving tech, you know Erik needs to be stopped and fast. T’Challa realizes this fact too as Shuri moves her blanket to reveal a necklace with silver teeth and you think you recognize it. T’Challa chuckles as Shuri walks up to him and places the necklace over his head. Everett looks to you but you shrug, thinking you know what it is but aren’t sure. Plus you don’t want to ruin the moment. Once it’s around his neck, you realize it’s his suit.   
“The Black Panther lives,” Shuri says, pulling T’Challa’s blanket back up around his shoulders. “And when he fights for the fate of Wakanda, I will be there right beside him.”  
“As will I,” Nakia says, taking a step towards him.  
“I’m in too,” Everett says.  
“Same here,” you volunteer, holding up your hand. T’Challa turns to you and Everett smiles.  
“What? You’re gonna need all the help you can get.”  
“That’s what we’re here for,” you say and T’Challa smiles with a small nod, but before anyone can say anything else, M’Baku exaggerates his yawn.   
“Are you done?” he asks, shaking his head. He repeats the question, stuttering and obviously as annoyed as usual.   
“Could you give me and Lord M’Baku a moment?” T’Challa asks. Everyone begins to exit, escorted by the royal guards.   
“We really doing this?” you mutter, turning to Everett.  
“Kinda have to,” he replies.   
“Then let’s give it our best shot,” you smile. You have to wait outside the room for a few minutes until T’Challa walks out.  
“The Jabari will not be aiding us,” he says. A few groans are heard and T’Challa holds his hand up to Shuri before she can start talking. “We must handle this on our own. Together, we can make our stand and take Wakanda back. But for that we needn’t worry about who isn’t helping, but who is.” You all nod in agreement. You’re given transportation to the outskirts of the forest around the back of the castle. T’Challa moves ahead and you, Everett, and Shuri are lead by Nakia through a secret entrance into the castle. The Queen remained with M’Baku to stay safe.


	5. Just Really Happy

You’re wrapped in a blue blankets, navy colored ski masks over your faces. Shuri takes the lead when you get near the lab.  
“Go, go, go,” she whispers as you round a corner. “Come on, Ross!” You see him looking behind, watching as men run past you. Reaching out, you grab the blanket around him and pull him with you, rolling your eyes. Once in the lab, you remove the blanket and mask, discarding it on the floor. From a table of black sand, some weaponry and what looks like a Dora Milaje uniform appear.  
“Nakia and I will get control of the Royal Talon with this,” Shuri says, holding up a device.  
“So what do we do?” Everett asks.   
“You’ll have to fly it,” she says, placing a Kimoyo Bead bracelet on his wrist.   
“What?”  
“You were a great pilot. Don’t worry, I’ll guide you through it.” Shuri takes one of the listening devices and places it behind his ear before handing one to you. You never knew Everett in his Air Force days but you know he was good. It seems like he’s good at everything he does, Air Force and CIA. He climbed the ranks way faster than you, but always made sure you still got to be his partner.   
“It’s just like riding a hoverbike,” she continues, syncing the earpiece as Everett touches the small piece of tech behind his ear.  
“What? You guys have hoverbikes?” he asks, but gets no reply as Shuri rushes back over to the sand table, grabbing one of the weapons.  
“Hey, Nakia, take that,” she says, pointing to the Dora Milaje uniform.   
“I’m not a Dora,” she says annoyed while tying her ring blades to her hip.   
“Just put it on, it’s armor!” Shuri says, already hurrying up the walkway. “Come!” Nakia sighs and pulls the uniform from the sand before running up after Shuri.   
“Good luck, Agent Ross and L/N!” Shuri shouts, still running up the path.   
“Yeah, I-I don’t know what I’m doing with this!” he shouts after her.   
“We’re counting on you!” Nakia yells over her shoulder, ignoring Everett. You turn to him and put your hands on his shoulders, squeezing them.  
“You’ve got this, Ev. I’ve watched you figure stuff out on the fly for years. And I’ve seen your Air Force records-”  
“You what?”  
“And you were an amazing pilot. Shuri knows what she’s doing, I’ve watched her work down here for the past two days. Don’t forget that I'm here to cheer you on too. You have incentive too, not just to win but I was thinking when we get back home we could go to Iron Gate for dinner one night,” you smile, watching Everett’s facial expression change through your small speech. At the end of it he smiles and places his hands on your waist. He goes to kiss you but you put a hand up, stopping him.  
“When we win,” you say and he rolls his eyes with a smirk. Suddenly something begins forming next to you and an automated voice speaks.  
“Remote piloting system activated.”  
“That’s you!” you smile, pushing him towards the chair that’s formed. A cockpit forms around it along with a screen of the view currently outside of it.   
“I made it American style for you. Get in,” you hear Shuri say over the earpiece.   
“Alright,” Everett mutters to himself, grunting as he shifts in the chair.   
“I’m right here if you need me,” you smile, running to the other side and standing behind the pilot’s chair. You watch as he quickly analyzes the controls then turns the joysticks quickly. You watch on the screen in front of you as the ship takes off.   
“Go! We can’t let those weapons get beyond Wakana!” Shuri says quickly.   
“Alright, I’m on it,” he says, leaning and turning the ship around, jetting off the other way. Everett gives you a quick smile. You nod and watch as the ground passes quickly beneath you. It’s crazy to think that on the surface, he’s really controlling the ship, but then again, with everything you’ve seen the past few days, it may not be as crazy as you thought. You’re flying over the city and in the distance, there’s three ships.  
“Okay, Shuri, I got ‘em, what do I do?” Everett asks.  
“Shoot them down, genius!” she shouts. You can’t help but laugh slightly at him asking a sixteen year old what to do about enemy ships.   
“All right,” Everett whispers, shifting in his seat. On the window of the cockpit, a crosshair appears and Everett lines it up, locking on the ship to the right.   
“Here goes nothin’” he says, pressing forward on the lever. Two beams fire out of the front and hit the other ship dead on.   
“All right, got ‘em,” he says.  
“Good one, keep going,” you say, smiling at him but when you look back up, the ships have turned around and are now firing at you.  
“Oh shit,” Everett murmurs.  
“Shit indeed” you say, gripping the back of the pilot’s seat. Everett repeats the word a few times, flying through the bolts.  
“Focus,” you say, patting his shoulder and he shuts up, shifting in his seat nervously once again. He maneuvers through rocks and cliffs, all while avoiding the fire and while you knew he was good, you never knew he was this good.   
“Shuri, I’ve lost one of ‘em, but two are on my tail,” Everett says, voice strained. He’s nervous and you’re about to say something to him, but there’s a muffled explosion. The cockpit moves and you grab tighter to the chair.   
“Shit, what the hell was that?” he asks.   
“I’ll go check,” you say, running out of the simulation. Just as you do, the automated voice returns.  
“The lab is under attack.”  
“What? Where?” you hear Everett ask behind you. Despite you running out to check, the voice deactivates the hologram just as you’re running back.   
“Right here, Ev!” you shout, dropping to your side after hearing the ship firing at the window again, sliding on the floor then scrambling to stand back up behind the pilot’s chair. His eyes widen as the ship is firing at the glass in front of you.   
“Ross! L/N! You have to get out of there now!” Shuri yells over the earpiece.   
“How long have I got?” he asks.   
“Glass integrity is at 50%,” the voice says as it cracks in front of you.   
“Put me back in,” he says with a small nod. Shuri shouts his name but he doesn’t reply.  
“Y/N, get outta here. Go upstairs,” he says, glancing to you before returning his attention to the returning hologram.   
“What? What are you gonna do?” you ask, leaning next to him.  
“Stay here and finish what I started.”  
“Everett, I’m not leaving you, not aga-”  
“Do you trust me?” he asks, cutting you off.  
“I… of course I do, Ev.”  
“Then go upstairs. I’ll come get you when it’s safe. I’ll see you in a few,” he smiles. You rest your head on his shoulder and he presses a kiss to your hair.  
“Now go.” You nod and run through the hologram and up the walkway. You glance back down to Everett, watching as he remotely flies the ship. Lingering for a moment, you shake your head and continue up, ducking into the small room you were given. You peek around the curtains and see that the Border Tribe has circled Okoye, Nakia, Shuri, and one other Dora Milaje woman. Only focused on them, you don’t notice the people walking up from behind. Suddenly, you see a man lift one of the Border Tribe members into the air and he looks familiar but it’s hard to tell from far away. Then you notice the others, all dressed in furs.  
“They came,” you whisper to yourself with a smile. You turn away from the window, closing the curtains, then run into the bathroom, the safest place in the room you can think of right now. You sit on the sink and think back to Everett. The glass was at 50% when you left and he was far from the castle. Unable to sit still you hop down from the sink and begin pacing, fidgeting with the buttons on your outfit, knowing full well that Everett would slap your hands away if he were up here too.  
“How’s it goin’ down there, Everett?” you ask through the earpiece but he doesn’t reply. You leave the bathroom, needing more room to walk.   
“Hey, Shuri, the last cargo ship is almost at the border but they got me trapped with some kind of cables,” he says and you perk up at the sound of his voice but stay silent for him to receive directions.  
“Make an X with your arms!” she yells, clearly still down in the fray, fighting. You run over to the window and look behind the curtains again and you think you can see her, but you’re not sure.   
“Now break it!” You guess Everett did it but what it was, you have no idea.   
“Yes! We did it!” Everett shouts and you turn from the window.  
“You did?” you shout, tensing while waiting for a reply.  
“Great! Now get out of there!” Shuri says. You stand in place, still waiting for his reply.  
“I’m coming up, meet you there,” he says. You jump excitedly before running to the door to open it. Closing it behind you, you see Everett come from the entrance to the lab. He runs up to you, pulling you into a hug.  
“You did it!” you squeal, wrapping your arms around his waist.   
“It’s over. T’Challa says it is done,” Shuri says in your earpieces, breathless. You let go of Everett before grabbing his hand and pulling him to the window in your room. Pulling the curtains open, you look across the grass to see both Border Tribe members and Jabari people kneeling. You turn to Everett with a smile.   
“We won,” he says, turning to you.  
“Yeah,” you say, placing your hands on his shoulders.  
“Does that mean I can get that kiss now?” he asks, putting his hands on your hips.  
“So impatient,” you laugh, leaning towards him.  
“I told you,” he says, right before pressing his lips against yours. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him closer and it’s better than you could have ever imagined. Not that you have imagined it… but you totally have. You smile against his chapped lips, yours in not much better condition from the cold and wind of Jabariland. Frankly though, you don’t care, because the best thing ever and it’s not gentle, but it’s not rough. The two of you have been waiting a long time for this and you want to kiss him every day for the rest of your life. A tear rolls down your cheek and you huff a laugh, pulling away from his lips and resting your head on his chest.  
“Something wrong?” Everett asks, placing a hand on your cheek, making you look to him.  
“No, I’m just… really happy,” you sniff, another tear rolling down your cheek. He wipes it away with his thumb and leans closer to you again.  
“Me too,” he mutters just before kissing you again.


	6. Perfect

You sit down in your seat in the back of the room, straightening your dress. It’s been a few weeks since Wakanda and you’re finally back home. People chat all around you, clicking and flashing of cameras near the front. You adjust the badge clipped to your dress, then sit with your hands in your lap. Of course, being the fidgeter you are though, you begin twisting the ring on your finger back and forth. You look down to it and smile. It’s not anything extravagant, just a thin band with a classic round diamond. It’s the same one from Korea. You hold your hand in front of you and move it, admiring the ring.   
“What, you don’t like it now? I thought it was perfect,” Everett says, looking at you mildly concerned.  
“No, it’s still perfect. I just like looking at it and knowing I get to marry my best friend,” you smile, nuzzling into his cheek, smelling the spice of aftershave and cologne.  
“It is pretty exciting, huh?” he asks, turning to you.  
“Sure is,” you smile, leaning to give him a quick kiss. You pull away and turn back forward, watching as the stage is taken and a hush falls over the crowd. Everett smiles at you, reaching his hand over and taking yours.  
“My name is King T’Challa, son of King T’Chaka,” T’Challa starts and you smile, seeing Okoye behind him and Nakia at his side. “I am the sovereign ruler of the nation of Wakanda. And for the first time in our history, we will be sharing our knowledge and resources with the outside world.” Everett glances to you, rubbing your knuckles with his thumb. You give his hand a reassuring squeeze. He’s been nervous about this, Wakanda opening up to the world, especially after Erik. You just keep telling him to trust T’Challa, that you both know he’s a smart man and will make the right decisions.  
“Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence.” You look around to see a few people nodding their heads slightly in agreement.  
“We all know the truth. More connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis, the wise will build bridges, while the foolish build barriers.” Glancing over to Everett, you watch as he smiles and you squeeze his hand again, causing him to look at you. You smile back.  
“We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one, single tribe.” You nod with approval, still excited about the whole thing, but nervous for responses. That’s when one of the men decides to speak up.  
“With all due respect, King T’Challa, what can a nation of farmers have to offer the rest of the world?” You think back again to T’Challa’s suit, Shuri’s technology, the Kimoyo Beads in a box at your and Everett’s apartment, and can’t help but nearly laugh at the question. The rest of the audience however, murmurs. They don’t know a thing about the real Wakanda. Okoye has a slight smile when she makes eye contact with you. She winks and you wink back. Nakia also has a smile, nodding when she makes eye contact with you. Looking to Everett, he’s still smiling and you bump his arm with your elbow and he bumps you back. T’Challa only looks out onto the crowd with a smirk. The reporters all begin asking questions at once. You take this time to leave, knowing you won’t get much of a chance to talk to them until later, giving a small wave to T’Challa before closing the door.   
“Told you he knew what he was doing,” you say, walking down the hall with Everett, still holding his hand.  
“Yes… you did,” he mutters.   
“What was that, Ev? Did you say I was right?” you ask, leaning to look at his face. He rolls his eyes.  
“If my wife is gonna be this annoying all the time, I might have to call off the wedding,” he says with a smirk. You get a smile on your face that you can’t wipe off when he calls you his wife.   
“Hey, you proposed to me, I’m the one who gets to decide that. If you do though, I’m keeping the ring. But you’re way too in love to even think about calling it off,” you say, leaning against his arm, placing your other hand on his upper arm.  
“Hmm, I guess you’re right. Wouldn’t want to skip out on marrying the perfect woman.” He kisses your cheek and you take your turn to roll your eyes with a smirk. He pushes open the glass door of the building and you descend the small flight of stairs, beginning to walk to Everett’s car.  
“How’s Italian sound for dinner?”  
“Perfect.”


End file.
